


Breathe

by stharridan



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Community: pokeprompts, F/M, Fic Exchange, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-06
Updated: 2013-01-06
Packaged: 2017-11-23 22:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/627031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stharridan/pseuds/stharridan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asthma's the problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> For john_egbert on DW.

Sometimes May would think that her father made a mistake when he loaned Wally his Zigzagoon. If he hadn’t, Wally wouldn’t own a Pokémon. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have a best friend who’s purple and named Ralts.   
  
If he hadn’t, May wouldn’t be standing here, fingers tentatively caressing the pokéballs at her hip, eyeing Wally as he releases Altaria in a burst of light and a challenger’s laughter.  
  


\---

  
  
He’s the first kid around her age that she’s met since leaving home. His eyes are big and blue and honest; May can find no fault in him except for the slight wheezing that comes whenever he takes a breath.   
  
She watches him carefully as he picks his way through the grass, ever aware of the little sounds indicating the presence of wild Pokémon. Her hand is ready, poised at her hip to pick out one of the two filled pokéballs to fend off unwanted customers. It doesn’t take long for Wally to encounter a Ralts, though it doesn’t take equally as much to lay waste to his wits.   
  
“Relax,” May whispers into his ear as she steadies him by the elbow. “Let Dad’s Zigzagoon do the job. When it’s weakened, you know what to do.”  
  
May has to admit that Wally does have potential to be a trainer. Though clumsy in battle, she notices the spark in his eyes, the joy, when he looks at the filled ball cupped in his hands.   
  
“Time to go. Don’t wanna get Dad all worried.” With a smile, May takes his hand and leads him back to town.  
  


\---

  
  
“What’s up with his breathing, Dad?”   
  
“It’s probably a bad case of asthma. The boy’s always had problems with the air around here.”  
  
“I think the air around here’s okay. It smells like the sea. I like it here.”  
  
“That’s because you don’t have to try so hard just to breathe.”  
  


\---

  
  
He’s breathing so hard by the time the battle is over, so hard that May is about to run over to him and ask whether he’s okay, but his uncle grabs him by the arms and steadies him.   
  
He looks at Ralts, beaten and bruised, lying on the ground. It twitches every now and then, and though its pained cries are soundless, May can see its suffering in Wally’s eyes.   
  
She looks away. She has to, or she would find it difficult to breathe.  
  
Wally withdraws Ralts. His shoulders are slumped and May can hear the wheezing in his chest.  _Wheeze wheeze wheeze_  
  
Like there’s a hole in his lung. A hole through which air is escaping, and Wally keeps trying to suck it back in but he can’t and he’s so, so pale and he staggers forward and is about to hit the ground-  
  
May catches him. His breath is hot against her ear, and the wheezing is louder than ever.   
  
“I’ll…go back to…Verdanturf…” he manages, still in May’s arms. “I’m…just too…weak…”  
  
 _No, you’re not weak. Don’t ever say that you’re weak._  She wants to tell him so but she can’t, not when she’s just beaten him with a freshly caught Electrike.  
  


\---

  
  
After, May wonders whether she should call her father, but finally decides against it. She still hears his words though. They are running circles around her head now even as she stands before the Mauville Gym, prepared to voice a challenge.  
  
If it’s so hard for Wally just to breathe, then how difficult must it be for him to battle?  
  


\---

  
  
She hasn’t seen Wally for quite a while now. She does see Brendan popping in out of nowhere, handing her some advice and tips that she doesn’t really need, but that’s about the extent of her journey besides training and catching Pokémon.   
  
The sea laps against her shoes, calm and gentle, a perfect façade masking what really lies underneath.  
  
 _These waters are treacherous, lass, but don’t you worry. There ain’t nothin’ that can take old Mr Briney down!_  
  
May allows herself a smile, wishing for Mr Briney’s company and his skill with the wheel. She isn’t afraid of the sea. Not really. She likes the taste of salt on her tongue when she opens her mouth, but isn’t all that fond of getting spray in her eyes. It stings.   
  
But there isn’t much that she can do now. The wind is in her hair as she summons Swampert to her side, giving it a gentle scolding as it splashes seawater at her. She returns its mischievous grin and climbs onto its back, not so ready for the journey to Mossdeep.  
  
Wally would like the air here.  
  


\---

  
  
Somewhere along the way, she tells Swampert to stop. She leans against the back of its moist neck and closes her eyes and lets the rhythm of the sea sweep her into a half-sleep and a vague dream of holed chests.  
  


\---

  
  
Wally has gotten better, May is glad (and perhaps a bit upset) to note. Altaria takes down Manectric rather easily, much to her dismay, but seeing Wally with that grin on his face and the excitement shining in his eyes makes her want to try harder than she’s ever tried before.  
  
She doesn’t know who will walk away victorious. In the midst of battle, she can feel a prickling at the back of her neck, something that she notices sometimes happens when she is on the verge of losing, and for the first time she is afraid.   
  
 _No, not now. I can’t lose now. The Elite Four is just beyond here!_  
  
She wipes the sweat away from her forehead with the back of a hand and after a long, fierce battle, Gardevoir falls.   
  
The silence is stifling, May realizes. It’s suffocating her and she tries hard to catch her breath, and then she sees Wally’s pale, pale face. Just as his best friend fell, Wally too collapses in a wheezing heap.   
  
Nobody walks away victorious.  
  


\---

  
  
It takes Wally’s asthma attack for May to realize that Pokémon Centres treat humans as well. They’re quite capable at it too.  
  
She sits by his bed, nodding off. She hasn’t been sleeping much, but how could she in a room where Wally’s breathing is amplified by the oxygen mask?   
  
Gardevoir is on the other side of his bed, one of Wally’s hands within its tender grasp, and not for the first time May thinks that Wally chose his first partner well. Gardevoir doesn’t seem angry with her, or it is most probably because of overwhelming concern for its trainer that it doesn’t really care much for May anymore.  
  
If her father hadn’t loaned Wally his Zigzagoon, he wouldn’t be here, bedridden with a medical device that makes his wheezing louder.  
  
But when Wally stirs awake, May is out of her chair at once, nerves on edge. His eyes open slowly and May holds her tears in as he blinks up at her, more puzzled than hurt.   
  
“We’re in Mossdeep’s Pokémon Centre. Your asthma knocked you out, so I had my Swellow take us all the way back here.”  
  
Wally stares at her for a moment and sighs. “I’m sorry for getting in your way. I mean, you should be battling the Elite Four now. You might even be the champion now if I didn’t-”  
  
May lets out a forced laugh. “It’s good training.” She can say nothing more as the tears finally start. She takes his hand and holds it tight. “I’m glad you’re okay.”  
  
It takes a while before Wally manages a hesitant smile. To May, his smile lights up the dull ward like lights draped around a Christmas tree.  
  
“I think you should go. The champion’s waiting.”  
  
She shakes her head and sits down. “He can wait a little longer.”  
  
Wally grins and his fingers around her hand tighten.


End file.
